AppDynamics vs PagerDuty
Compare AppDynamics and PagerDuty on features, pricing, and buyer fit using the same researched criteria.
AppDynamics
Cisco APM / observability — Infrastructure from ~$6/vCPU/mo; Premium (infra+apps) from $33/vCPU/mo annual; Enterprise $50/vCPU; often Cisco EA quote. Does not outrank Datadog 8.6.
Best for
- • Cisco-aligned estates that will model vCPU Premium $33 (not $6 infra-only) as APM TCO
- • APM buyers comparing AppDynamics to Dynatrace DPS and Datadog modules
- • Teams already in a Cisco EA who will not self-serve Datadog tiles
Starting from $33.00/user/mo
No free plan
VS
Our verdict
No universal winner. Choose based on which criteria matter most for your team.
AppDynamics is better for
- ✓ Security & admin
PagerDuty is better for
- ✓ Starting pricing
- ✓ Free plan
- ✓ Integrations
Choose AppDynamics if: Cisco-aligned estates that will model vCPU Premium $33 (not $6 infra-only) as APM TCO
Choose PagerDuty if: SRE/IT teams that need on-call schedules and paging
PagerDuty
On-call / incident response — Free ≤5 responders; Professional $21/user/mo annual ($25 monthly); Business $41 ($49 monthly); Enterprise contact.
Best for
- • SRE/IT teams that need on-call schedules and paging
- • Orgs already sending alerts from Datadog/CloudWatch
- • Incident commanders who want a dedicated ops cloud
Starting from $21.00/user/mo
Free plan available
AppDynamics vs PagerDuty pricing
AppDynamics researched starting price from $33/mo. PagerDuty researched starting price from $21/mo; a free plan is researched. Affiliate economics excluded.
AppDynamics
From $33.00/user/mo
PagerDuty
From $21.00/user/mo
AppDynamics
Starting from $33.00/user/mo
No free trial evidenced
- Infrastructure (per vCPU)See details
- ~$6/vCPU/mo infrastructure — not the APM-relevant research floor. Unit is vCPU, modeled as host-priced usage.
- Premium (infra + apps)PopularSee details
- $33/vCPU/mo billed annually — APM-relevant Premium floor (infra+apps). Often sold inside Cisco EA.
- Enterprise (per vCPU)See details
- $50/vCPU Enterprise pack on published Observability Cloud-style list.
- Cisco Enterprise AgreementCustom
- Many estates buy AppDynamics inside a Cisco EA quote — not the $33 vCPU tile alone.
PagerDuty
Starting from $21.00/user/mo
Free trial available
- Free$0.00/user/mo
- Up to 5 responders — basic alerting and one escalation policy.
- max users: 5
- ProfessionalPopular$21.00/user/mo
- $21/responder/mo annual ($25 monthly) — schedules, policies, integrations.
- Business$41.00/user/mo
- $41/responder/mo annual ($49 monthly) — analytics, advanced admin, higher limits.
- EnterpriseCustom
- Governance, provisioning depth, bundled add-ons — contact sales.
Estimate your team cost
Monthly estimate from verified per-seat list pricing. Confirm on the vendor site before purchasing.
AppDynamics
$495.00/mo
PagerDuty
$315.00/mo
+$180.00/mo — AppDynamics costs more
Verified monthly unit prices · Aug 18, 2026
Prices in USD
Shown per user / month from verified list pricing.
Plans can change
Confirm live vendor rates before purchasing.
Add-ons may apply
Calling, SMS, or usage fees can add cost.
Independence
Affiliate status never changes pricing outcomes.
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